Race and Rights in Contemporary US Politics | 当代美国政治中的种族与权利

📚 Race and Rights in Contemporary US Politics | 当代美国政治中的种族与权利

The politics of race and rights in the United States is shaped by a long struggle over constitutional equality, voting access, criminal justice, immigration and economic opportunity. Contemporary debates often ask whether American institutions have overcome racial discrimination or continue to reproduce it in new forms.

当代美国政治中的种族与权利问题，受到宪法平等、投票权、刑事司法、移民和经济机会等领域长期斗争的影响。当代争论常常聚焦于：美国制度究竟已经克服了种族歧视，还是正在以新的形式继续复制歧视。

1. Historical Foundations and the Civil Rights Legacy | 历史基础与民权运动遗产

The Reconstruction Amendments, passed after the Civil War, created the constitutional foundation for racial equality: the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed equal protection, and the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

内战后通过的重建修正案奠定了种族平等的宪法基础：第十三修正案废除了奴隶制，第十四修正案保障平等保护，第十五修正案禁止投票中的种族歧视。

Yet for nearly a century, southern states imposed Jim Crow segregation, poll taxes, literacy tests and violent intimidation, preventing most African Americans from exercising these formal rights.

然而近一个世纪里，南方各州实施吉姆·克劳法、人头税、识字测试和暴力恐吓，使大多数非裔美国人无法行使这些形式上的权利。

The Civil Rights Movement and federal legislation in the 1960s, especially the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, dismantled legal segregation and created federal enforcement tools.

20 世纪 60 年代的民权运动和联邦立法，特别是 1964 年《民权法案》和 1965 年《投票权法案》，废除了法律上的种族隔离，并建立了联邦执法工具。

These struggles still frame modern debates over whether racial inequality is primarily structural, cultural or individual in origin.

这些斗争仍然框定着现代争论：种族不平等究竟主要源于结构性因素、文化因素还是个人因素。

2. Constitutional Guarantees and Judicial Interpretation | 宪法保障与司法解释

The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause provides the main constitutional guarantee against racial discrimination by state governments.

第十四修正案的平等保护条款，是反对州政府种族歧视的主要宪法保障。

The Supreme Court treats race as a suspect classification, so any racial classification must satisfy strict scrutiny: the government must show a compelling interest and use narrowly tailored means.

最高法院将种族视为可疑分类，因此任何种族分类都必须通过严格审查：政府必须证明存在迫切利益，并且采用了最小限制的手段。

The Fifteenth Amendment forbids denying the vote on account of race, but its enforcement has historically depended on Congress passing appropriate legislation.

第十五修正案禁止因种族而剥夺投票权，但其执行在历史上一直依赖国会通过适当的立法。

Since the 1970s, the Court has increasingly applied a colour-blind constitutional logic, limiting the scope of race-conscious remedies such as desegregation orders and affirmative action.

自 20 世纪 70 年代以来，最高法院越来越多地采用“无视肤色”的宪法逻辑，限制废除种族隔离命令和平权法案等种族意识补救措施的适用范围。

3. Voting Rights and Electoral Participation | 投票权与选举参与

Before 2013, states with a history of racial discrimination had to obtain federal preclearance before changing election laws, under the Voting Rights Act.

2013 年之前，根据《投票权法案》，有种族歧视历史的州在修改选举法之前必须获得联邦预先批准。

In Shelby County v Holder (2013), the Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula that determined which states were subject to preclearance, leaving the mechanism inoperable unless Congress passes a new formula.

在谢尔比县诉霍尔德案（2013）中，最高法院推翻了决定哪些州适用预先批准的覆盖公式，使该机制无法运作，除非国会通过新的公式。

After this ruling, several states introduced strict voter ID requirements, purged voter rolls and closed polling places in minority areas, which critics describe as voter suppression.

该裁决之后，一些州推出了严格的选民身份证要求、清除选民名单，并关闭少数族裔地区的投票站，批评者称之为选民压制。

In Allen v Milligan (2023), the Court reaffirmed that racial gerrymandering can violate the Voting Rights Act, showing that some limits on discriminatory districting still exist.

在艾伦诉米利根案（2023）中，最高法院重申种族选区划分可能违反《投票权法案》，表明对歧视性选区划分的某些限制仍然存在。

4. Affirmative Action and Higher Education | 平权法案与高等教育

Affirmative action refers to policies that consider race as one factor in university admissions or employment in order to remedy past discrimination and promote diversity.

平权法案指在高校招生或就业中将种族作为一个因素的政策，以补救过去的歧视并促进多样性。

In Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978), the Court allowed race to be used as one factor among many but banned fixed racial quotas.

在加州大学董事会诉巴克案（1978）中，最高法院允许将种族作为众多因素之一，但禁止固定的种族配额。

Grutter v Bollinger (2003) upheld holistic race-conscious admissions, accepting educational diversity as a compelling state interest, but required individualised review of each applicant.

格鲁特诉博林杰案（2003）维护了整体性的种族意识招生，承认教育多样性属于迫切利益，但要求对每名申请者进行个性化审查。

However, in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard (2023), the Court overruled Grutter and held that race-based admissions programmes violate the Equal Protection Clause and the Civil Rights Act.

然而，在学生公平录取组织诉哈佛案（2023）中，最高法院推翻了格鲁特案，裁定基于种族的招生计划违反平等保护条款和《民权法案》。

This decision has pushed universities to adopt race-neutral alternatives, such as considering socioeconomic disadvantage, geographic diversity or personal adversity.

这一裁决促使大学采取种族中立的替代方案，例如考虑社会经济劣势、地域多样性或个人逆境

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